U.S. patent application number 14/604648 was filed with the patent office on 2015-07-23 for electrical connector reducing antenna interference.
The applicant listed for this patent is FOXCONN INTERCONNECT TECHNOLOGY LIMITED. Invention is credited to JING-JIE GUO, JUN ZHAO.
Application Number | 20150207273 14/604648 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 53545646 |
Filed Date | 2015-07-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150207273 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
ZHAO; JUN ; et al. |
July 23, 2015 |
ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR REDUCING ANTENNA INTERFERENCE
Abstract
An electrical connector (100) includes an insulative body (2), a
number of contacts (1), and a metal shell (5). The insulative body
includes an upper wall (21), a lower wall (22), a pair of sidewalls
(23), and a rear wall (24) connecting between the upper wall, the
lower wall, and the sidewalls for cooperatively defining a
receiving space (20). The insulative body has a mating tongue (25)
extending forwardly from the rear wall into the receiving space.
The contacts are retained in the mating tongue and partly exposed
in the receiving space. The metal shell has a length along a
front-and-rear direction smaller than that of the receiving space.
The metal shell has a length along a front-and-rear direction
smaller than that of the receiving space so as to be positioned on
a front part of the lower wall for reducing interference between
the metal shell and an antenna.
Inventors: |
ZHAO; JUN; (Kunshan, CN)
; GUO; JING-JIE; (Kunshan, CN) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
FOXCONN INTERCONNECT TECHNOLOGY LIMITED |
Grand Cayman |
|
KY |
|
|
Family ID: |
53545646 |
Appl. No.: |
14/604648 |
Filed: |
January 23, 2015 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
439/78 ; 439/345;
439/607.01 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01R 13/6594 20130101;
H01R 13/6582 20130101; H01R 12/72 20130101; H01R 24/60
20130101 |
International
Class: |
H01R 13/6581 20060101
H01R013/6581; H01R 13/627 20060101 H01R013/627; H01R 12/57 20060101
H01R012/57 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jan 23, 2014 |
CN |
201410031246.5 |
Jul 1, 2014 |
CN |
201420357954.3 |
Claims
1. An electrical connector comprising: an insulative body
comprising an upper wall, a lower wall, a pair of sidewalls, and a
rear wall connecting between the upper wall, the lower wall, and
the sidewalls for cooperatively defining a receiving space, the
insulative body having a mating tongue extending forwardly from the
rear wall into the receiving space; a plurality of contacts
retained in the mating tongue and partly exposed in the receiving
space for engaging with a mating plug connector; a metal shell
having a length along a front-and-rear direction smaller than that
of the receiving space so as to be positioned on a front part of
the lower wall for reducing interference between the metal shell
and an antenna.
2. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
metal shell extends to the sidewalls and the upper wall of the
insulative housing.
3. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 2, wherein the
metal shell has a top wall, a bottom wall, and a pair of lateral
walls connecting between the top wall and the bottom wall, all of
the top wall, the bottom wall, and the lateral walls being
distanced from the rear wall of the insulative body.
4. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
metal shell comprises a pair of locking portions spaced apart from
each other and each locking portion forming an arc portion arching
outwardly away from the receiving space for engaging with a pair of
latches of the mating plug connector.
5. An electrical connector assembly comprising: an insulative
housing defining a receiving space communicating with an exterior
along a front-to-back direction, and a tongue portion extending
forwardly in the receiving space and forming opposite surfaces in a
vertical direction perpendicular to said front-to-back direction; a
plurality of contacts disposed in the housing with contacting
sections exposed upon one surface of the tongue portion; a metallic
reinforcing plate attached upon the other surface of the tongue
portion; a metallic shell attached to the housing and including a
wall located on a corresponding side of the receiving space, said
wall equipped with a pair of recessed locking portions spaced from
each other in a transverse direction perpendicular to both said
front-to-back direction and said vertical direction for locking to
a pair of latches of a plug connector; wherein said metallic shell
is dimensioned smaller than the receiving space in the
front-to-back direction for reducing interference between the
metallic shell and an antenna thereabouts.
6. The electrical connector assembly as claimed in claim 5, wherein
said metallic shell forms a frame structure essentially surrounding
the receiving space viewed along the front-to-back direction.
7. The electrical connector assembly as claimed in claim 6, wherein
said frame structure is not fully exposed in the receiving space
but with transversely spaced bulged portions coplanar with an
interior surface of said housing and with in the transverse
direction a connection portion between the pair of recessed locking
portion commonly coplanar with an opposite interior surface of the
housing.
8. The electrical connector assembly as claimed in claim 5, wherein
said metallic shell includes a pair of board locks extending
downwardly in the vertical direction beyond a bottom face of the
housing for mounting to a printed circuit board.
9. The electrical connector assembly as claimed in claim 5, wherein
said metallic shell is integrally formed with the housing via an
insert molding process, and includes in the transverse direction a
pair of spaced end sections exposed on two opposite lateral side
walls of the housing for linking to a carrier during the insert
molding process.
10. The electrical connector assembly as claimed in claim 9,
wherein said metallic shell further includes a pair of board locks
located adjacent to the corresponding end sections and extending
downwardly beyond a bottom face of the housing for mounting to a
printed circuit board.
11. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 10, wherein said
pair of board locks are located in front of the pair of end
sections in the front-to-back direction.
12. The electrical connector assembly as claimed in claim 9,
wherein the metallic reinforcing plate is integrally formed with
the housing via said insert molding process, and includes in the
transverse direction a pair of spaced end sections exposed on said
two opposite lateral side walls of the housing for linking to a
carrier during the insert molding process.
13. The electrical connector assembly as claimed in claim 12,
wherein the pair of end sections of the reinforcing plate are
located behind those of the metallic shell in the front-to-back
direction.
14. The electrical connector assembly as claimed in claim 5,
further including a printed circuit board on which the housing is
mounted, wherein the metallic reinforcing plate is located farther
from the printed circuit board than said wall is in the vertical
direction, and is located between the contacts and said wall in
said vertical direction.
15. The electrical connector assembly as claimed in claim 5,
wherein said wall is a bottom wall of the metallic shell, and the
corresponding side of the receiving space is closer to a printed
circuit board, on which the connector is seated, than an opposite
side of said receiving space.
16. The electrical connector assembly as claimed in claim 5,
wherein said wall defines a inwardly curved recess in a front edge
and between said two locking portions for receiving the housing
therein.
17. An electrical connector assembly comprising: an insulative
housing defining a receiving space communicating with an exterior
along a front-to-back direction, and a tongue portion extending
forwardly in the receiving space and forming opposite surfaces in a
vertical direction perpendicular to said front-to-back direction; a
plurality of contacts disposed in the housing with contacting
sections exposed upon one surface of the tongue portion; a metallic
reinforcing plate attached upon the other surface of the tongue
portion; a metallic shell attached to the housing and including a
bottom wall located on a bottom side of the receiving space, said
bottom wall equipped with a pair of recessed locking portions
spaced from each other in a transverse direction perpendicular to
both said front-to-back direction and said vertical direction for
locking to a pair of latches of a plug connector; and a printed
circuit board on which the housing is seated; wherein both the
metallic reinforcing plate and the metallic shell are integrally
formed with the housing via an insert molding process with opposite
end sections exposed to an exterior for linking corresponding
carrier; wherein the bottom wall of the metallic shell is closer to
the printed circuit board than the metallic reinforcing plate is in
the vertical direction.
18. The electrical connector assembly as claimed in claim 17,
wherein said metallic shell is only applied to said side of the
receiving space.
19. The electrical connector assembly as claimed in claim 17,
wherein said shell is dimensioned smaller than the receiving space
in the front-to-back direction.
20. The electrical connector assembly as claimed in claim 17,
wherein said bottom wall includes, between the spaced recessed
locking portions, a cutout filled with material of the housing.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This patent application relates to a concurrently filed U.S.
patent application entitled "ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR BOTH PREVENTING
SCRAPPING TO AN INSULATIVE BODY AND REDUCING ANTENNA INTERFERENCE,"
which is assigned to the same assignee as this application.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates generally to an electrical
connector, and more particularly to an electrical connector
reducing antenna interference.
[0004] 2. Description of Related Arts
[0005] Japan Pat. No. 4875130 issued to Hirose on 2011 Dec. 2
discloses an electrical connector comprising a metal shield with a
receiving space, a plurality of contacts received in the receiving
space of the metal shield, and an insulative body molding over the
metal shield and retaining the contacts. The metal shield together
with the contacts is insert-molded in one-shot via the insulative
body. The insulative body forms an insulative cover adhering to an
outside surface of the metal shield and a tongue portion extending
forwardly into the receiving space for supporting the contacts. The
metal shield usually has a large length along an insertion
direction to extend from an insertion opening to an inner
connecting surface between the insulative cover and the insulative
body. The metal shield usually has a plurality of grounding tails
to be soldered with a printed circuit board of an electronic device
such as a mobile phone which usually has an antenna for both
transmitting and receiving signals. Therefore, the metal shield has
an antenna interference issue because a small distance between the
metal shield and the antenna when the electrical connector is
assembled on the printed circuit board of the electronic
device.
[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 8,845,363 issued to Ardisana, II et al. on
2014 Sep. 30 discloses an electronic device including a receptacle
connector. Reinforcing element may be embedded within an upper
portion of shell adjacent to antenna of device. As the position of
antenna may vary among electronic devices, so may the position of
reinforcing element vary to be adjacent to antenna and embedded in
shell. Some embodiments disclosed relate to improved receptacle
connector shells that can provide for a smaller, stronger
receptacle connector shell, increased Electromagnetic Interference
and Electromagnetic Compatibility performance ("EMI/EMC
performance"), and increased flexibility in the positioning of an
antenna within the enclosure of an electronic device.
[0007] An electrical connector reducing antenna interference is
desired.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to
provide an electrical connector reducing antenna interference.
[0009] To achieve the above object, an electrical connector
includes an insulative body, a number of contacts, and a metal
shell. The insulative body includes an upper wall, a lower wall, a
pair of sidewalls, and a rear wall connecting between the upper
wall, the lower wall, and the sidewalls for cooperatively defining
a receiving space. The insulative body has a mating tongue
extending forwardly from the rear wall into the receiving space.
The contacts are retained in the mating tongue and partly exposed
in the receiving space. The metal shell having a length along a
front-and-rear direction smaller than that of the receiving space
so as to be positioned on a front part of the lower wall for
reducing interference between the metal shell and an antenna
[0010] Other objects, advantages and novel features of the
invention will become more apparent from the following detailed
description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 is a perspective, assembled view of an electrical
connector in a first embodiment constructed in accordance with the
present invention;
[0012] FIG. 2 is similar to but taken a different view from FIG.
1;
[0013] FIG. 3 is a top, elevational view of the electrical
connector of FIG. 1 when the insulative body is separated from
other parts of the electrical connector;
[0014] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the electrical connector
when taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 1;
[0015] FIG. 5 is a perspective, exploded view of the electrical
connector of FIG. 1;
[0016] FIG. 6 is a perspective, assembled view of an electrical
connector in a second embodiment constructed in accordance with the
present invention;
[0017] FIG. 7 is similar to but taken a different view from FIG.
6;
[0018] FIG. 8 is a perspective, exploded view of the electrical
connector of FIG. 6; and
[0019] FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the electrical connector
when taken along line 9-9 of FIG. 6.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0020] Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred
embodiment of the present invention.
[0021] Referring to FIGS. 1-5, an electrical connector 100 of the
present invention in a first embodiment, used for receiving a
mating plug connector (not shown), comprises a plurality of
contacts 1, an insulative body or housing 2 defining an receiving
space 20 for receiving the contacts 1 and having a mating tongue 25
extending into the receiving space 20 for retaining the contacts 1,
a reinforcing plate 3 retained in the mating tongue 25 for
reinforcing the mating tongue 25, a pair of grounding plates 4
retained in a rear part of the insulative body 2, and a metal shell
5 retained at a front part of the insulative body 2 and partly
exposed into the receiving space 20 for engaging with the mating
plug connector and preventing the insulative body 2 from being
scrapped by the mating plug connector.
[0022] Referring to FIG. 5, each contact 1 comprises a front
contacting portion 11 for connecting with the mating plug
connector, a retaining portion 12 extending backwardly and
slantwise from the front contacting portion 11 for retained in the
insulative body 1, and a rear soldering portion 13 extending
backwardly and horizontally from the retaining portion 12 for being
soldered with a printed circuit board (not shown) of an electronic
appliance (not shown) such as a mobile phone which usually has an
antenna (not shown) for both transmitting and receiving
signals.
[0023] Referring to FIGS. 2-5, the insulative body 2 is over-molded
outside of the metal shell 5, the contacts 1, the reinforcing plate
3, and the grounding plates 4. The insulative body 2 comprises an
upper wall 21, a lower wall 22, a pair of sidewalls 23, and a rear
wall 24 connecting between the upper wall 21, the lower wall 22,
and the sidewalls 23 for cooperatively defining the receiving space
20. The mating tongue 25 extends forwardly from the rear wall 24
into the receiving space 20. The rear wall 24 defines a plurality
of cutouts 241 on an upper face thereof which are formed after a
plurality of molds (not shown) is removed. The molds are used for
orienting the contacts 1 during molding of the insulative body 2.
Therefore, the cutouts 241 extend along a vertical direction
perpendicular to the mating tongue 25 which extends along both the
front-and-rear direction and a transverse direction perpendicular
to the front-and-rear direction. The contacting portions 11 of the
contacts 1 extend beyond the mating tongue 25 to be exposed in the
receiving space 20 for engaging with the mating plug connector.
[0024] Referring to FIG. 3, the reinforcing plate 3 comprises a
base portion 31, a front end portion 33 curvedly extending from a
front margin of the base portion 31, a pair of fixing legs 32
extending rearwardly and horizontally from the base portion 31, and
a pair of side portions 34 curvedly extending from two lateral
margins of the base portion 31. The fixing legs 32 oppositely
extend outside of the insulative body 2 along the transverse
direction. The base portion 31 is positioned below the mating
tongue 25 and the base portion 31 defines a transverse slot 310.
The mating tongue 25 extends into the transverse slot 310 for
retaining the reinforcing plate 3 with the insulative body 2. The
front end portion 33 and the side portions 34 correspondingly and
upwardly catch with front and lateral edges of the mating tongue 25
for retaining the reinforcing plate 3 with the insulative body 2,
too. The reinforcing plate 3 is made from metal material which is
more rigid than plastic material of the insulative body 2, and
therefore, the reinforcing plate 3 prevents the mating tongue 25
from accidentally being broken.
[0025] Referring to FIG. 3, the grounding plates 4 are retained in
the rear wall 24 of the insulative body 2. Each grounding plate 4
comprises a horizontal portion 41 retained in the insulative body 2
and a vertical portion 42 integral with the horizontal portion 41
for connecting with the printed circuit board.
[0026] Referring to FIG. 5, the metal shell 5 is a frame shaped and
comprises a top wall 51, a bottom wall 52 opposite to the top wall
51, and a pair of opposite lateral walls 53 connecting between the
top wall 51 and the bottom wall 52. The bottom wall 52 comprises a
pair of board locks 521 extending downwardly therefrom for securing
into the printed circuit board. Each of the top wall 51 and the
lateral walls 53 forms a bulge 50 protruding inwardly to be planar
with an inner surface of the insulative body 2 and so, exposed into
the receiving space 20. The top wall 51, the bottom wall 52, and
the lateral walls 53 are retained in the insulative body 2 except
for the bulges 50 and the board locks 521. When the mating plug
connector is inserted in the receiving space 20, the bulges 50
engage with the mating plug connector for preventing the insulative
body 2 from being scrapped by the mating plug connector. The bottom
wall 52 comprises a pair of locking portions 520 integrating with
the corresponding lateral walls 53 and a connection portion 523
connecting between the locking portions 520. Each locking portion
520 forms an arc portion 522 arching outwardly away from the
receiving space 20 for engaging with a pair of latches (not shown)
of the mating plug connector. According to the first embodiment of
the present invention, each of the top wall 51, the bottom wall 52,
and the lateral walls 53 has a length along the front-and-rear
direction smaller than that of the receiving space 20, namely, the
top wall 51, the bottom wall 52, and the lateral walls 53 do not
extend to the rear wall 24 of the insulative body 2. Therefore, the
electrical connector 100 of the first embodiment reduces antenna
interference because of the small length of the metal shell 5 along
the front-and-rear direction wherever the antenna is positioned.
Alternatively speaking, the metal shell 5 has a length as small as
possible extending along the front-and-rear direction for avoiding
the antenna. For example, the locking portions 520 are essential
because the arc portions 522 of the locking portions 520 are used
for engaging with the latches of the mating plug connector,
however, a minimum size of the connection portion 523 between the
locking portions 521 is 0.
[0027] Referring to FIGS. 6-9, the metal shell 5' of the present
invention in a second embodiment, is plate shaped and comprises a
pair of locking portions 520', a connection portion 523' connecting
between the locking portions 520', and a pair of board locks 521'
extending downwardly for securing into the printed circuit board.
Each locking portion 520' forms an arc portion 522' arching
outwardly away from the receiving space 20' for engaging with the
mating plug connector. Compared the two embodiments of the present
invention, the metal shell 5' of the second embodiment has none of
the top wall 51 and the lateral walls 53 of the first embodiment,
for more effectively reducing antenna interference
consideration.
[0028] The metal shell 5, 5' of the present invention which is
positioned on at least one of the four insulative walls 21, 22, 23,
is vitally and essentially to have a length smaller than that of
the receiving space 20 for avoiding the antenna. Therefore, the
electrical connector 100 of the present invention reduces
interference between the metal shell 5, 5' and the antenna. It is
noted that because the connector is made by an insert molding
process to have the metallic shell, the metallic reinforcing plate
and the metallic contacts are all integrally formed with the
insulative housing, each metallic shell and metallic reinforcing
plate has two opposite end sections 59, 59' and 39 exposed upon two
opposite side walls of the housing for linking to a corresponding
carrier during the insert molding process. Understandably, such
carrier should be removed after the insert molding process for
finalizing the whole connector.
[0029] While a preferred embodiment in accordance with the present
invention has been shown and described, equivalent modifications
and changes known to persons skilled in the art according to the
spirit of the present invention are considered within the scope of
the present invention as described in the appended claims.
* * * * *